Black smoke filled the sky Saturday afternoon in the Las Vegas Valley from a large brush fire just east of UNLV’s Sam Boyd Stadium. This view is looking east from Desert Inn Road and Durango Drive.
Monday, April 18, 2011 | 11:38 a.m.
Brush fire
KSNV coverage of brush fire near Sam Boyd Stadium, April 16, 2011.
A wildfire that affected some 84 acres near the county's Wetlands Park in the east valley originated from a homeless camp, Clark County officials said Monday.
The fire was reported at 3:43 p.m. Saturday in a marshy area north and east of UNLV's Sam Boyd Stadium. Fire officials deemed the fire contained by 10 a.m. Sunday morning.
Although the preliminary investigation revealed the blaze started at a homeless camp, authorities said the probe is ongoing until a final cause is determined.
Billows of smoke could be seen for miles across the Las Vegas Valley on Saturday as the fire burned in a rural area away from homes and other buildings. Witnesses reported seeing the smoke from the west side of Las Vegas to Southern Highlands on the south end of the valley.
While the fire was mostly in the county’s jurisdiction, some of it spread to property overseen by the Bureau of Land Management, and crews from the Clark County Fire Department, BLM, Nevada Division of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service battled the fire Saturday.
Metro Police assisted with security and monitoring the fire from the air.
The area is one of the few places close to the developed part of the county that has enough vegetation to support a wildfire, Clark County Assistant Fire Chief Mike Johnson said.
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